
In 1877 the Colorado Central Railroad Company decided to
construct a road from Longmont to
Fort
Collins selecting the best grade for the route. This route did not coincide with the location
of the nearby-established town of Old St. Louis. It did, however, pass through the fields
belonging to David Barnes. Barnes was
given naming rights and chose to name the new city after William Austin
Hamilton Loveland, Superintendent of the Colorado Central R.R., and a former
neighbor of Mr. Barnes from his days in Golden, Colorado. (Source: Loveland-Big
Thompson Valley 1877-1977 Centennial by Clara Ball.)
This
page lists our library resources leading to discoveries about those who made
Loveland their home
along with links to related web sites.
Some of the above resources
cannot be loaned; however, you may e-mail our Ask-A-Librarian service for
assistance
in providing information or send your inquiry by regular mail. We request that you send a $1.00 to cover
handling fees and an additional 10 cents for each page you request copied.
For items that
can be loaned, please request the item through you local library as an
interlibrary loan.
Genealogy Research Strategies
Locate primary resources
The library has many resources for “unofficial” records
that are listed below. While they are
valuable resources in tracing family history, you should also pursue the
“official” records that are retained by the county or state government. This includes death, birth and marriage
certificates. Issues of land ownership
may also be helpful.
For official vital records
for our community, other states, and territories go to
Vital Records Information for
United States (birth, death or marriage certificate) This site provides helpful
information for obtaining records, links to state and county agencies that
provide certificates, and addresses for those agencies that may not have a web
presence. There is also a link for
foreign vital records.
For
Colorado records go directly to
CDPHE:
Colorado Birth, Death, Marriage, and Divorce Certification Home Page
Verify the location
Maps
Today’s county lines are not necessarily what they once
were. This becomes important information
if you are looking for records of a descendant.
Library resources
Cornerstones
and Communities: A Historical Overview of Colorado’s County Seats and Courthouses by W. Virden
[Reference Collection]
Historical Atlas of Colorado by Thomas J. Noel, Paul f. Mahoney and Richard E. Stevens
(1993) [Reference Collection]
Historical maps on the web
Colorado State Archives
Historical Map Links
http://www.colorado.gov/dpa/doit/archives/history/histmaps.html
Larimer County Borders
http://www.rootsweb.com/~coyuma/comaps/larimer.htm
USGenWeb Archives Digital Map
Library
http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/maps/colorado
Land Records
For information on the use of
land records in genealogic research and where you might go to obtain them,
visit the Learning Center and select Land Records at
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~haas/learningcenter.htm
Larimer County Land Records are on file at
Larimer County Clerk & Records Office at
200 West Oak Street, Fort Collins,
CO.
Hours 8-5
Monday-Friday
Library resources
Larimer County,
Colorado general index (direct), 1862-1872
(court record) / compiled and indexed by Larimer
County Genealogical Society, Fort Collins, Colorado, 1979-1980. [Reference Collection]
Ancestry’s Red Book
and the Handy Book for Genealogists help determine what governmental division had
authority over
land records for specific time periods. [Reference Collection]
Local Records -- for local color,
insights, and information that provide answers and leads
Web Resources
Volunteers have made some cemetery
records available on the Internet.
Access to many of these records is available
through the USGenWeb Project. The site includes cemetery listings and the
Tombstone Transcription Project with searchable listings.
Colorado
USGenWeb
http://www.rootsweb.com/~cogenweb/comain.htm
Library Resources

Cemeteries of
Larimer County [Reference
Collection]
Volume I:
Grandview Cemetery,
Fort Collins, Colorado, (1989)
Volume II: Roselawn
and Resthaves Cemeteries (1991)
Volume
III. Greenlawn Cemetery, Berthoud, (1992)
Volume IV:
Lakeside Cemetery,
Loveland, Colorado,
(1993). First burial in this cemetery was Mrs.
Matthew Burnett on February 22, 1880;
earlier burials were also moved here from other burial
grounds.
Volume V. Loveland Burial
Park, Loveland, Colorado, (2001). First burial in this cemetery was
Willard Ranson in 1912.
Loveland
Cemetery
City of
Loveland Burial
Park 1702 North Cleveland,
Loveland
80538-3840 970-962-2430
The
Loveland
Public Library has the following newspapers on microfilm. We do not necessarily have
continuous copy between the earliest and latest copy dates. The
microfilm is considered a reference item and as such is for in-house use.
Newspaper
|
Earliest Copy
|
Latest Copy
|
|
Loveland Daily
Herald
|
October 30, 1914
|
December 31,
1921
|
|
Loveland
Herald
|
February 4, 1908
|
December 28,
1911
|
|
Loveland
Leader
|
January 1, 1892
|
August 25, 1893
|
|
Loveland
Register
|
December 20, 1894
|
June 28, 1906
|
|
Loveland
Reporter
|
January 1, 1891
|
December 31,
1921
|
|
Loveland
Reporter-Herald
|
January 2, 1923
|
Present
|
We have a card file that
has been compiled over the years by staff and volunteers that indexes
articles from the above newspapers covering death notices, along with
marriages, births and some notable events.
Marriages
Library Resource
Larimer County,
Colorado Index to Marriages – Volume I 1858-1910
[Reference Collection]
Web Resource
The
Colorado State Archives has marriage and divorce records for many
counties and includes an informative page on finding other relevant records. Colorado
State Archives /
Family History Page
Colorado Marriage Search http://www.sctc.state.co.us/marriages/default.aspx
Telephone Directories
The directories have both residential and business
listings. They are in our reference
collection, shelved in the locked case. Search
in our online catalog using the subject terms Larimer
County
(Colo.)
– Directories or Loveland
(Colo.)
-- Directories
Fort Collins, Loveland and Berthoud Districts
|
1921-22
|
Numerical Telephone Classified Directory
|
1921-22
|
Loveland, Berthoud, Johnston & Milliken
|
1934-35, 1940-41, 1947-55, 1957-59
|
Loveland & Berthoud
|
1960
|
Big Thompson Canyon Road
|
1958(?), 1960, 1964, 1967
|
Larimer County Telephone Directory
|
1978-85, 1989
|
Berthoud Loveland (Mountain
Bell)
|
1961-85, 1988/89-1997/98
|
Loveland Berthoud (USWest Dex)
|
1998/99-2001/02
|
City & Other Directories
In addition to resident and
business listings, these directories may include a miscellaneous information
section with such information as city, county, state and federal officers,
secret and benevolent orders, etc.
Resident entries may include their occupation. If you know an address and want to know who
resided there, you can refer to the reverse listing section if it has been
included.
Search in our online catalog using the subject
terms Larimer County (Colo.) – Directories or
Loveland (Colo.) – Directories
[Reference Collection – Locked Case]
|
Some of our directories cover just the city of Loveland,
others include additional towns located in Larimer
County
|
1904, 1907-11, 1917, 1919, 1922, 1925, 1927, 1929, 1931, 1933,
1935-36, 1940, 1947,1950-51, 1954, 1956-58, 1960-62, 1964-79, 1981 (missing
83) to present
|
|
Larimer County, Colorado
Farm & Ranch Guide
|
1982/83
|
High school yearbooks provide interesting source
material for names of the graduating class with photographs, activities and
student involvement, along with faculty names.
Informative and fun –
[Reference –
locked case]
Loveland High
School
Senioran, 1909
Loveland High
School
Redskin,
1926
Loveland High
School
Pine
Cone, 1922, 1923
Loveland High School Indian
Trails, 1937
Loveland High
School
LHS
Class of 1939
Loveland High
School
Chieftain, beginning with 1940 to present (a few missing volumes)
Mountain
View High School
Summit from 2001to present
Thompson Valley
High
School Echoes,
beginning with 1977 to present
(a few missing volumes)
Thompson Valley
High
School video
yearbook 1994-1995
Census Records
Knowing when the
state received statehood is helpful in determining in which census they will be
included.
http://www.50states.com includes statehood dates and information on earlier
territory status.
Where to get federal census records
Library Resources
1870
Colorado Territory Census Index. Published by
Greeley, Colo.: Weld County Genealogical Society, 1977. [Genealogy Reference Collection]
Larimer County, Colorado 1885 State Census. Published by
Larimer County Genealogical Society, 2000. [Genealogy Reference Collection]
The library has transcripts of oral histories of
Loveland
community members whose families were among our pioneers. These were collected as a part of the
Larimer County Oral History
Project. An early resident of
Loveland
may have been mentioned in one of the histories even though they might not be
the main entry.
There are entries for the oral
transcripts on LIBRA, the Loveland Public Library online catalog. Perform a word search on the terms Larimer County Oral History Project or the
name of the individual that you are researching.

The library also has the
Loveland Partnership in History; Finder’s Guide in our reference collection
that includes an alphabetical index to the Oral History transcripts.
Books
that relate to Loveland families and history
(not inclusive of
all related library holdings).
Search the online catalog LIBRA for the shelf location.
Buildings & Homes
Loveland's Historic downtown: a
guide to buildings, 2001
Historic
Loveland Churches, McWilliams, 2002
A Guide to Historic Loveland:
including a walking tour of historical commercial buildings and homes in
Loveland, Colorado, 1996.
Loveland Historic Preservation Survey, 1999.
Historic Loveland churches, 2002
DAR Materials
Daughters of the American
Revolution lineage of Namaqua Chapter Members
Loveland, Colorado: January 8, 1914 through October 31, 1994. [Reference]
War Records
Memories of the War Years : Memories of the Veterans of Fort Collins and
Larimer County, Colorado
[Reference]
Resources
Colorado Resource Handbook: A Genealogical Reference for
Colorado Resources by the
Colorado Council of Genealogical Societies, 1998.Provides a directory to
resources in Colorado that assist with genealogical research. [Reference]
Loveland RoundUP a weekly newspaper, 1947 through 1958. [Reference]
The Loveland News (continuing the
Loveland RoundUP), 1959 through 4/1960 [Reference]
The Larimer
County Times-News (consolidating the Loveland News and
Larimer County Times), 5/1960 through 1964.
[Reference]
Colorado Families (search under subject terms
Colorado – genealogy)
Colorado Families: a Territorial Heritage by the
Colorado Genealogical Society
Genealogy of the Dunnings by Harold
Marion Dunning
Reminiscences of a Pioneer by Abner E. Sprague
You can also perform a subject search on the
family name. A subject search on Unger produces
Unger: Ancestors – Descendants
of Alma Kathryne Unger Rust
with Allied Families, Schaus – Orth, by Merle W. Rust.1991
Historic
Loveland
Hardships & Hope:
Fascinating Frontier Women of Northern
Colorado, compiled and edited
by Jack Mefford, Janet Sanders-Richter, and Jan Weir
Historical Images From the
Loveland Museum/Gallery Collection by
Gates, Zethyl., 1994
History
Of Larimer County,
Colorado (and index) by Ansel Watrous, 1911
Larimer
County History, volume 1 (1985) Andrew J.
Morris, editor and volume 2 (1860’s – 1987) Arlene (Briggs) Ahlbrandt
and Kathryn Stieben, editors
Loveland-Big
Thompson Valley 1877–1977 Centennial, by Clara Ball, 1977
Over
Hill and Vale : in the evening shadows of Colorado's
Longs Peak by Harold Marion Dunning,
1956-1971
Thompson
Valley Tales by Kenneth Jessen, 1984
Videorecording
& Digitization Projects
Through Zethyl's
eyes [videorecording] : a Loveland history, Carson Block and
Ted Schmidt, producers, 1999.
The
Larimer
County Digitization Initiative is
a project of the county’s historical resources produced by Larimer county’s
public libraries, museums and archives, school districts and university.
It
includes a map of the county's historical sites that are open to the public and
" Larimer County Water Ways," a photographic telling of the impact of water
through ditch, reservoir and diversion projects along with the recent floods
that have impacted the county.
Colorado's Main
Streets is part of The Colorado Digitization Project, Heritage
Colorado Collection and offers a digital tour of some Loveland properties
that were selected for their historical significance and architecture.
The vertical files principally contain newspaper
clippings and a few small booklets that relate to Loveland. They are organized according to subject.

The
Loveland Museum has picture files of historic
Loveland, personal letters and objects that have been donated,
and contracts between workers and the sugar factory.
Internet Genealogy links (just
a few)
Larimer County Genealogical
Society http://jymis.com/~lcgs/index.htm
Larimer County Genealogical
Association provides a listing of their activities and services
on their web site.
Cindi’s Genealogical
Homepage
http://cyndislist.com/ This site is strongly recommended by
genealogists.
We also
have the book, Cyndi's List :
a comprehensive list of 70,000 genealogy sites on the Internet by Cyndi Howells.
Roots Web Genealogical Data
Cooperative
RootsWeb.com Home Page
Family Search (The
Church
of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints) In addition to many other features, you can
get to links of Colorado resources by selecting Search for ancestors -> view
maps, forms, guides and other research help-> C -> Colorado.
http://www.familysearch.org/
Created 11/03